Door operator construction



July 25, 1967 J. R. WIEGAND DOOR OPERATOR CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. I}, 1966 7'0 POWER SUPPLY 0 SWITCH CONTROL 52 llllliulknn INVENTOR Juiy 25, 1967 J. R. WIEGAND 3,332,472

DOOR OPERATOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 2. 1966 WWW U U A 4 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR y 25, 1967 J. R. WIEGAND 3,332,472

DOOR OPERATOR CONSTRUCT ION Filed Feb. 13, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENT OR John 7?. Mega/1d BY W ATTURNE 5 July 25, 1967 .1. R. WIEGAND DOOR OPERATOR CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 3. 1966 1 LATCH/N5 Rfl-AV DEPOT i I 16G INVENTOR /1n 7?. Mega/7d United States Patent ice 3,332,472 DOOR OPERATOR CONSTRUCTION John R. Wiegand, Valley Stream, N.Y., assignor to Wiegantl Electronics C0., Inc., Union County, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Feb. 2, 1966, Ser. No. 524,401 10 Claims. (Cl. 160-188) This invention is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 461,366, filed June 4, 1965, entitled, Automatic Overhead Door Opener.

In my prior application I have disclosed a door opening device adapted for installation over a doorway of a garage or other like building having a door provided with rails for guiding the door between a vertical closed position and an overhead open position. In my prior device is disclosed a winch driven by a motor actuated by a circuit under control of a switch which is manuallyoperable, key operated or remotely controlled by radio, supersonic or magnetic means. The device includes a limit switch ac tuated by a motor driven gear for turning the motor on and off when the door is fully. open and closed.

The device embodying the present invention, employs the same basic circuitry and operating principles, but relates to improvements in the mechanical arrangement of the winch, in mechanical means for keeping the door closed when the control circuit is deactivated, in an improved mechanical arrangement for supporting driving a winch driven cable connected to the door, in an improved motor speed reducer, in an improved casing and mounting means for the device, and in other improvements.

It is one object of the invention to provide an automatic overhead door opener with a winch actuated arm which prevents unauthorized opening or lifting of the door when closed, but which automatically clears the door when the winch is operated to open the door.

It is a further object to provide a novel casing and mounting means for an automatic overhead door opener.

Another object is to provide an improved winch construetion for an automatic door opener as described.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a garage doorway closed by a vertically movable door provided with a door opener device embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged rear perspective view partially in section of the door of FIG. 1, with the door opener device shown mounted over the doorway and with parts attached to the door.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the door opener device, with cover removed.

FIG. 4 is a further enlarged end view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the parts of the mounting and easing of the device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of the electrical control circuit of the door opener.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown the 3,332,472 Patented July 25, 1 967 door opener 10 including a flexible cable 12 having a loop 14 at its lower end secured to an eyebolt 15 mounted near the bottom of the lowermost section 16 of a vertically movable garage door 20. The eyebolt is secured by a nut 15' at the rear side of the door. The door has sections 16, 17, 18 and 19 secured together by strap hinges 22 at the rear side of the door..Above the vertical door is a vertical lintel 24 forming part of the front wall 25 of a garage or other building provided with rectangular door opening 28. At one side of the door opening on wall 25 is a key operated lock switch 32, used to actuate the operating mechanism and circuitry of the door opener. At opposite sides of the door opening and at lateral edges of the door are channel shaped rails 33 of conventional type on which the door can be drawn up. The rails have vertical straight lower portions 33a, upper generally horizontal straight portions 33b and intermediate curved p01- tions 330. In rails 33 are engaged rollers 34. The rollers are supported by shafts 35 mounted on brackets 35a on the rear side of door section 19.

The door opener 10 further includes a mounting plate 36 having a vertical panel 36' provided with holes 37 in which are grommets 38. The holes and grommets are located at spaced poinuts along the bottom edge 39 and at opposite ends of plate 36; see FIGS. 2, 3 and 6. Screws 40 are inserted in the holes to secure the plate 36 to the rear side of lintel 24 above the door 20. Plate 36 has a laterally extending top flange 42 formed with a lowered or stepped free flange 44. Spaced holes or slots 45 are provided in flange 44. Plate 36 has a pair of horizontal vertically spaced ridges 46, 47. In ridges 46, 47 are spaced holes or slots 48, 48. The slots 45, 48 and 48' receive tabs 49, 49 and 49" extending upwardly, laterally, and downwardly respectively from top and lateral edges of flat partition plates 5056. These partitions as best shown in FIG. 3 are vertically disposed, spaced apart, and support operating components of the door opener.

A removable cover is provided for the door opener; see FIGS. 2, 4 and 6. This cover has a vertical side wall 61 which is curved at its bottom edge to define a laterally extending bottom wall 62. Wall 62 terminates in an upturned narrow flange 64 which engages in notches 65 cut in bottom, front corners of all the partition plates so that flange 64 fits between adjacent rearwardly extending ridge 47 and notches 65; see FIG. 4. The cover has a top wall 66 extending horizontally forwardly from the upper edge 67 of wall 61. The wall 66 has a groove 68 spaced from the edge 67 to define an upper recess 69 which receives tabs 79 extending upwardly from rear vertical edges of all the partitions. The cover 60 can be snapped in place on the mounting plate 36 with the top wall 66 of the cover overlaying the flange 44. The cover extends between partitions 51 and 56 leaving the left partition 50 exposed along with the components disposed between partitions 50 and 51.

The components carried by the partitions 50-56 and plate 36 are best shown in FIGS. 2-5 to which reference is now made. At the right end of the device is a socket 80 supported by partition 56. In the socket is a lamp bulb 81. The lamp lights when the device is operating, that is while the door 20 is being opened or closed. A protective fuse block 82 is also supported by partition 56. A transformer 83 and other circuit components are attached to panel 36' of plate 36 and are disposed between par-titions 55 and 56. The circuit components are explained in further detail in connection with FIG. 7. Between partitions 54 and 55 is an electric motor 84 operatively connected to the motor between partitions 52 and 54 is a speed reducer and slip clutch coupling 85 driving a shaft 86. The speed reducer and slip clutch coupling may be of a known type such as that described in U.S. Patent 2,906,143.

Shaft 86 supports and drives a winch gear 88 and a winch pulley 90. Cable 12 is wound at least one and a half turns around the pulley so that at two points P1 and P2 it is engaged by idler roller 94. Roller 94 is rotatably mounted on a nonrotatable shaft 96 pivotally supported at its right end at partition 53. The left end of the shaft is biased downwardly by a looped wire spring 98 having opposite ends engaged in a slot 99 in partition 50. Roller 94 has a laterally extending sleeve 94' on shaft 96. The sleeve 94' has a helical threaded portion engaging an internal thread in a splined gear 101 engaged with and rotated by gear 88. A limit switch 102 is attached to shaft 96 and is provided with an operating arm 104 contacting the right side of gear 101.

In operation of the winch, when winch pulley 90 is rotating it draws the cable around it and roller 94 turns with pulley 90. Gear 101 also turns with gear 88 but does not advance axially on threaded sleeve 94'. When the door 20 reaches the upper end of travel, cable 12 stops advancing and roller 94 stops turning since it is held by frictional contact with the stationary cable. However gear 88 continues to turn and rotates gear 101 which slides axially to the right to move arm 104 and actuate switch 102.

The shaft 86 carries an arm 106 terminating in a ring 107 around shaft 86. This ring is not attached to the shaft. A coil spring 110 on shaft 86 located to the left of partition 50 is secured there by a nut 111 and a cotter pin 112. The spring bears on ring or washer 108 which in turn presses ring 107 against a ring 114 attached to shaft 86 by a set screw 115. When the shaft 86 turns for pulling up cable 12 and lifting door 20, the arm 106 is turned down to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 4 and stays there out of the way of door 20. When the door 20 is in the closed lowered position shown in FIG. 4, the arm 106 extends horizontally outward. This position is assumed due to the upward or counterclockwise rotation of shaft 86 when the motor is reversed and the door is lowered. It will be noted that the arm 106 will turn outwardly as soon as the shaft 86 reverses its rotation, so that the arm 106 will extend into the path of door travel. However, the descending door will push arm 106 down against the frictional force of shaft 86 tending to rotate arm 106 up. Then when the door 20 clears the arm 106, shaft 86 will rotate arm 106 up to the horizontal position shown in FIGS. 2-4. The left end of shaft 96 serves as a stop member to limit upward movement of arm 106. A V-shaped spring 106 is secured by a screw 106" at its apex to ring 107. This spring has a free outwardly extending leg 106a which serves to limit downward turning movement of arm 106 by contacting ridge 47 as shown by dotted lines in FIG. 5.

Cable 12 extends vertically upward from eyebolt 15 as shown in FIG. 2 and then passes through space S between the top of the door and bottom of lintel 24. The cable is entrained around pulley 90 and then passes upwardly and rearwardly over a pulley 120 carried by a vertical angle bar 121 having a curved upper end where p v the pulley is rotatably mounted. Another vertical angle bar 123 may be laterally secured to angle bar 121. Both angle bars are secured to the upper section 19 of the door 20. Bar 123 has a lower curved end to which is attached the bottom end of a coil spring 125. The upper end of the spring is engaged by the upper end of cable 12 so that cable 12 is held in tension around pulley 90.

The circuit 100 shown in FIG. 7 includes a power supply cable 152 shown at the right end of the device in FIGS. 2 and 3. By means of this cable power can be drawn froma conventional power supply source. One wire 153 is grounded. The other wire 154 is connected to contacts 155, 156 of limit switch 102. The limit switch is a double-pole double-throw switch. In the position shown in FIG. 7, one pole 158 contacts fixed contacts 156, 159. The other pole 160 is shown closed with fixed contacts 161, 162 and is open with respect to contacts 163, 164.

Relay 146 is a latch relay having a coil 166 connected in series with normally open pushbutton switch contacts 168 of the key switch 32 and secondary winding 169 of stepd-own transformer 83. The primary winding of the transformer is connected to power supply wires 152, 153. Relay 146 has two movable contacts 172, 174. Contact 172 moves between fixed contacts 173, 175. Contact 174 moves between contacts 156, 157. Lamp 81 is connected between ground and switch contact 159.

Contact 157 is connected to cont-act 177. Contacts 175 are connected to armature winding of motor 84. The armature winding in turn is connected to both contacts 173 and 162. The field winding 182 of the motor is connected to contacts 161, 164 and contact 172. Contact 163 is grounded to contact 175.

In operation of the door opener including control circuit 100, suppose door 20 is closed as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The cable 12 will be held taut by spring 125 which will be tensioned. The arm 106 will be extended horizontally. In this position of arm 106 it will not be possible to open the door manually by lifting it because the door will not be able to pass arm 106 backed up by shaft 96.

If it is now desired to open the door automatically a suitable key will be inserted into the key switch 32 and turned to close its contacts momentarily. This will energize relay 146 and contacts 172, 174 will shift to the right as viewed in FIG. 7 to close with contacts 157. Also contact 172 will shift to close with contact 175. This will apply power to the armature and field of the motor which will start. The shaft 86 will turn so as to pull up the cable 12. As the part of the cable extending from point P1 to spring 125 lengthens the spring contracts. The motor continues to operate as the door is drawn up along rails 33 to an overhead position. When the cable 12 reaches the limit of its upward travel with the door 20 in an overhead horizontal position winch pulley 90 slips in the cable turn or turns while the shaft 86 with gear 88 continues to rotate. While the cable 12 was being drawn up, the arm 106 rotated out of the way of the rising door. Also the gear 101 rotates along with gear 88, and the gear remains in its set position on threaded sleeve 94, The continued rotation of gear 88 now rotates gear 101 alone which slides axially to the right as shown in FIG. 3 while its splines still retain engagement with gear 88. As gear 101 moves to the right, it moves switch arm 104 so that the contacts of limit switch 102 are thrown from the right position shown in FIG. 7 to the alternate left position. Pole 158 then closes with contacts 156 and 159 and pole 160 closes with contacts 163 and 164. In this situation the power supply to the field and armature windings at contacts 155, 157, 158 is broken and the motor stops. If the motor should tend to overrun, the slip clutch coupling 85 will slip. When the motor stops, gear 101 will remain in the right position. The motor will stop leaving the door in fully open position. Lamp 81 will be lighted while the door is open, through closed contacts 156, 158, 159.

When it is desired to close the door, the key switch 32 can again be momentarily operated. The relay 146 will again be actuated to move contacts 172, 174 back to the left position shown in FIG. 7. The motor will now be'energized through relay contacts 156, 158, 159 and will be reversed in its direction of rotation. This will permit the cable 12 to move pass pulley 120 and around winch pulley 90. The motor will continue this drive while the door itself descends due to its own weight. The slowly moving table held by the winch will limit the speed of descent. The lamp 81 will remain lighted. The arm 106 will be turned out of the way of the door.

While the door is descending the gear 101 remains in its right position and arm 104 of switch 102 is held in its position since the gear 101 turns with gear 88. When the door reaches the bottom of the doorway opening 28 and is stopped at the ground the cable 12 will again become taut as spring 125 is tensioned and the arm 106 will again assume a horizontal position. When the cable 12 stops moving around winch pulley 90, the winch pulley which is now turning in reverse direction will slip in the cable turns. Then roller 94 will be held frictionally by the stopped cable and gear 101 will be turned by gear 88 to move to the left. This will permit switch arm 104 to move to the left. The switch poles 158, 160 will then be restored to the posit-ion shown in FIG. 7, the light of lamp 81 will go out and the power supply circuit of the motor will open.

There has thus been provided a door opener which operates automatically for opening and closing a vertically movable door. In operation, motor 84 drives the winch pulley 90 around which is more than one turn of flexible cable 12. The lower end of the cable is fastened to the outside bottom of door 20, then around winch pulley 90, over pulley 120, and then down to spring 125. If the door hits an obstruction going up or down or reaches its upper or lower limit of travel, the cable 12 will slide on the winch pulley 90 since the spring 125 is not holding the cable 12 too tightly. When cable 12 slips on the winch pulley, the idler roller 94 will stop because it is riding on top of the turns of the cable which has stopped moving. When this happens the motor is still driving the winch pulley 90 and the gear 88 is driving gear 101. Then since the roller 94 with its sleeve 94 are stationary, the gear 101 moves axially to activate the limit switch 102 and to stop the motor.

When the latching relay 146 is activated, the motor 84 is started in opposite direction of rotation. The gear arrangement is such that that gear 101 turns with respect to sleeve 94' only when the sleeve 94' and roller 94 are stationary, which occurs only when the cable 12 is stationary, Cable 12 is stationary only when the door is stopped at either end of travel or when it encounters an obstruction while moving up or down.

Instead of a key operated switch 32, a simple pushbutton switch can be mounted on wall 25. Alternatively the pushbutton or key operated switch can be mounted on a post or other support located remotely from the door 20. As a further alternative switch 32 can be arranged for remote operation by radio signals, magnetic pulses, supersonic or sonic pulses, etc.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and that var-ions changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A door opener for a door mounted between guide rails at a doorway and movable between a lowered, vertical closed position and an overhead horizontal open position, comprising a single cable attachable at one end to said door near its bottom end, a mounting plate having a vertical panel mountable on a lintel over said doorway and having a laterally extending top wall, vertical partitions carried by said panel and top wall in horizontally spaced positions, a winch assembly carried by certain of said partitions, said assembly comprising a winch drive shaft, a winch pulley on said shaft, said cable being entrained on but detached from said pulley, said cable being wound at least once around the pulley, means cooperating with the winch pulley and contacting the cable for pulling the door upwardly on said rails and for paying out the cable as the door descends, said cable having its other end extending away from said pulley to terminate close to the upper end of the door, a reversible motor carried by said plate and others of said partitions, cou pling and speed reducing means operatively connecting said motor and said winch drive shaft, a coil spring connected at one end to the other end of the cable, and nonarticulated, rigid means for directly connecting the other end of the coil spring to said door near and below its upper end with the spring disposed axially parallel to the door so that the cable is tensioned between its other end and said pulley at all positions of the door.

2. A door opener as recited in claim 1, further comprising an arm frictionally engaged on said shaft, said arm rotating outwardly of said plate in a vertical path of movement of said door to prevent raising of said door when said motor is deactivated, said arm rotating with said shaft out of the way of the door when the door is descending while the motor and winch are operating.

3. A door opener as recited in claim 2, further comprising a cover having flanges detachably engageable on said partitions for covering said motor and speed reducing means.

4. A door opener as recited in claim 1, wherein the last named means comprises an angle bar structure atta-chable to the door, said bar having a curved end, an idler pulley rotatably mounted on said end of the angle bar structure for supporting and guiding said cable between the spring and the winch pulley, said angle bar structure having a curved other end, said other end of the coil spring being attached to the curved other end of the angle bar structure.

5. A door opener as recited in claim 1, said winch assembly further comprising a horizontal nonrotatable shaft pivotally supported at one end, an idler roller on said nonrotatable shaft contacting the turns of the cable on said winch pulley, and a looped spring disposed between the top wall of the mounting plate and said nonrotatable shaft to keep the idler roller pressed against turns of the cable on the winch pulley.

6. A door opener as recited in claim 5, further comprising a threaded sleeve rotatable freely on said nonrotatable shaft and extending laterally of said idler roller, an externally splined gear having an internal thread engaged on the threaded sleeve, a spur gear on the winch drive shaft engaged with the splined gear for rotating the same while the splined gear moves axially when the idler roller and threaded sleeve are held stationary by the cable, and a limit switch having an arm disposed to be actuated by the axially moving splined gear, said limit switch being connected in circuit with said motor for stopping the same when the switch is actuated by the splined gear.

7. A door opener as recited in claim 6, further comprising an arm frictionally engaged on the winch drive shaft, said arm rotating outwardly of the mounting plate in a vertical path of movement of said door to prevent raising of the door when the motor is deactivated, said arm rotating with said drive shaft out of the way of the door when the door is descending while the motor and Winch assembly are operating.

8. A door opener as recited in claim 6, wherein the means for connecting the other end of the coil spring to the door near its upper end comprises an angle bar structure attachable to the door, said bar having a curved end, an idler pulley rotatably mounted on said end of the angle bar structure for supporting and guiding said cable between the spring and the Winch pulley, said angle bar structure having a curved other end, said other end of the coil spring being attached to the curved other end of the angle bar. structure.

9. A door opener as recited in claim 7, wherein the means for connecting the other end of the coil spring to the door near its upper end comprises an angle bar structure attachable to the door, said bar having a curved end, an idler pulley rotatably mounted on said end of the angle bar structure for supporting and guiding said cable 7 s between the spring and the winch pulley, said angle bar References Cited structure having a curved other end, said other end of UNITED STATES PATENTS g fgg fg gi ZZigigg curved (her end 2,923,541 2/1960 Gessell 160l89 10. A door opener as recited in claim 7, further com- 6 2936830 5/1960 Mosher 160-488 prising a cover having flanges detachably engageable on DAVID WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner. said partitions and top wall of the mounting plate for covering said motor, speed reducing means and limit HARRISON MOSELEY Examl'wr' switch. I. K. BELL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DOOR OPENER FOR A DOOR MOUNTED BETWEEN GUIDE RAILS AT A DOORWAY AND MOVABLE BETWEEN A LOWERED, VERTICAL CLOSED POSITION AND AN OVERHEAD HORIZONTAL, OPEN POSITION, COMPRISING A SINGLE CABLE ATTACHABLE AT ONE END TO SAID DOOR NEAR ITS BOTTOM END, A MOUNTING PLATE HAVING A VERTICAL PANEL MOUNTABLE ON A LINTEL OVER SAID DOORWAY AND HAVING A LATERALLY EXTENDING TOP WALL, VERTICAL PARTITIONS CARRIED BY SAID PANEL AND TOP WALL IN HORIZONTALLY SPACED POSITIONS, A WINCH ASSEMBLY CARRIED BY CERTAIN OF SAID PARTITIONS, SAID ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A WINCH DRIVE SHAFT, A WINCH PULLEY ON SAID SHAFT, SAID CABLE BEING ENTRAINED ON BUT DETACHED FROM SAID PULLEY, SAID CABLE BEING WOUND AT LEAST ONCE AROUND THE PULLEY, MEANS COOPERATING WITH THE WINCH PULLEY AND CONTACTING THE CABLE FOR PULLING THE DOOR UPWARDLY ON SAID RAILS AND FOR PAYING OUT THE CABLE AS THE DOOR DESCENDS, SAID CABLE HAVING ITS OTHER END EXTENDING AWAY FROM SAID PULLEY TO TERMINATE CLOSE TO THE UPPER END OF THE DOOR, A REVERSIBLE MOTOR CARRIED BY SAID PLATE AND OTHERS OF SAID PARTITIONS, COUPLING AND SPEED REDUCING MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID MOTOR AND SAID WINCH DRIVE SHAFT, A COIL SPRING CONNECTED AT ONE END TO THE OTHER END OF THE CABLE, AND NONARTICULATED, RIGID MEANS FOR DIRECTLY CONNECTING THE OTHER END OF THE COIL SPRING TO SAID DOOR NEAR AND BELOW ITS UPPER END WITH THE SPRING DISPOSED AXIALLY PARALLEL TO THE DOOR SO THAT THE CABLE IS TENSIONED BETWEEN ITS OTHER END AND SAID PULLEY AT ALL POSITIONS OF THE DOOR. 